Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>> Ah.
Doesn't that make you hanker for
a refreshing, beautiful, bubbly
glass of hard cider?
Yes.
That was not champagne.
That was hard cider.
And it is really an industry, a
craft that is taking off in
Washington state.
10 years ago, there were two
cider producers in these parts.
And today, there's about a
dozen.
That's not a lot, it's a small
industry, but it's really
growing fast because people are
plunging into another way to
have a unique hand crafted
experience.
So joining me now, Lars
ringsrud, Tim Larson, are here
from snow drift cider company in
east Wenatchee.
Thanks for coming.
>> Thanks for having us.
>> So hard cider, we're going to
be doing some tasting by the
way.
And as we do, I kind of want to
learn about you, I want to learn
about cider.
Let's start with snow drift
cider.
The way I understand it, the
story of your company is like
you were growing, eating apples
for decades in Wenatchee, and we
said, wait a minute, there's
more we can do.
>> Yeah.
>> We are, our family has been
growing in the Wenatchee valley
for generations.
And we, you know, we decided
we've got all these apples.
There's got to be something else
we can do besides send them to
storage and to the market.
So we were looking at different
things we could do.
And we kind of landed on the
idea of making hard cider.
>> I'm talking about cider as if
it's this new discovery, except
really, when I think hard cider,
I think Ben franklin and Thomas
Jefferson in a pewter mug.
>> Absolutely.
There's a long rich history of
cider in the U.S.
The french and English brought
it with them when they began
colonizing the U.S. and it was
up there as the top beverage
that was consumed.
And it wasn't until the
industrial revolution, that
people started moving away from
their farm, that you started to
see more cider.
>> Let's bring our newlyweds
into this because they've been
arguing off camera.
Not really.
So Monica and Jason, we're going
to jump into this and taste and
be honest about what you like
and don't like and what you're
curious about.
So we said that cider's been
around for a while.
People moved away from the farm.
But then we repealed alcohol
with prohibition.
>> Yeah, absolutely.
So cider hasn't been on people's
radar for quite a while now.
And there was a decline, but
what really killed off cider was
the prohibition and the
temperance act.
And the reason is we were
growing the apples off the trees
and making cider.
And so to continue making money,
they had to pull out their
orchards and put in new
varieties.
So suddenly, your base product
is gone.
So even though prohibition went
away, cider became juice
afterwards, fresh juice.
>> Right.
>> And people stopped kind of
remembering how to make cider,
what it was, the varieties, they
were all gone, they've been
pulled out.
>> So what I've served you is
our dry cider.
This is patterned after an
English pattern style, so it's
not going to be really sweet,
it's not going to have much
juice or apple character.
What you do taste is kind of a
limey profile with some
butterscotch, some bittersweet
apple characters.
It's going to come across as
earthy spice.
>> Now, I'm the newby, right.
So I got to say I was expecting
more of just the sweetness, like
a granny Smith bite.
What do you sell more of this,
subtle, dry cider, or are most
people like me, we're not so
sophisticated yet and we want
the sweet stuff?
>> Yeah.
You've exactly nailed the
influences that we see.
Our dry and our sweeter ciders
sell at about the same rate.
There are people more familiar
with the flavors.
And there are people maybe
coming from drinking beer or red
wine or from nothing and they do
expect more of a juicy flavor, a
little bit more sweetness.
>> I expect it in a box with a
straw sticking out.
[LAUGHTER]
>> It was off.
>> Shall I pour another one
while we're talking?
>> Okay.
>> So talking about the alcohol
of it, how does it compare to
beer and wine?
>> It kind of fits in between
the two.
Cider typically will range from
6.5 to 5% alcohol, it depends on
the growing region, the
temperatures and everything of
when the apples were grown.
It's definitely lower than wine,
usually a little higher than
beer.
>> So you can drink more or less
of it?
>> I feel like with cider,
especially if it were sweeter,
I'm not tempted to chug wine.
But even if the cider is hard,
if it's sweet, I feel like it's
very drinkable.
>> You can drink it, it's very
drinkable.
>> Yes, absolutely.
A lot of times in pubs, you'll
get a smaller pour size.
And it isn't nearly what wine
alcohol content is.
So it's not quite like a lot of
beers are where you're going to
grab one after the other, but it
is very enjoyable and palatable,
so it is easy to consume.
>> Yeah.
Now, this is sweeter.
>> Yes.
This is the quick break blend,
this is designed more for the
northwest palate, the American
blend.
It has a lot more acidity as
well.
You mentioned your tongue is
dried out.
I think that's from the cider
apples.
And this one really showcases
the intensity of the varieties
of cider apples that we use in
bringing the cider.
>> What do you eat with a cider?
You know how wines pair with
things.
What does cider pair with?
>> It pairs wonderfully with a
wide variety of food, especially
artisan breads and cheeses.
But really, especially with the
range of flavors that we have to
work with, you can pair it with
anything from Thai food to
Carolina pulled pork.
>> I want to know where we can
get snow drift cider.
>> In Seattle, central markets,
PCCs, whole foods, we have a
full list on our website of our
locations at
snowdriftciders.com.
And a number of pubs around the
area.
>> Delicious and aromatic, and
Monica and Jason, thanks for
tasting it with us.
>> Thank you.
>> Hard cider.
It's like, you know, it's the
next big thing.
The foodie movement, especially
here in Washington state.
And cheers to everyone.
Happy Valentine's day.
>> Cheers.
>> Likewise.